While discussions about the fluoride ban are still raging in the US, British officials are going to increase water fluoridation in some regions. According to the British Parliament, only 10% of the country's population has access to fluoridated water, and 8% of this group receives the chemical via natural water sources; the other 92% consume it via a fluoridation scheme.
As it turned out, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland do not add this compound to their water sources as this activity is optional in the UK and is the responsibility of each individual country's government.
UK parliament also reported that the mentioned regions, which neglected fluoridation, have a significant prevalence of tooth decay in children compared to England, which provided this practice many years ago.
That's why the British Dental Association plans to spread fluoridation across the state. According to the organization's board member, Paul Woodhouse, this practice will be a good leveler for dental health in problematic regions. It is unlikely to become a "golden bullet," but it's still a good starting point.
Chief medical officers from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland also published a recommendation regarding water fluoridation in 2021. They claimed that this practice could reduce the risk of tooth cavities in children from wealthier and poorer families by 17% and 28%, respectively.
Still, Great Britain also has an opposition to water fluoridation called Fluoride Free Cumbria, which spread the same ideas as similar groups in the US.
Check out our other articles regarding fluoride saga in US:
